Musings on homeschooling, theology, parenting, Anglican Church in North America, Pittsburgh, family, arts and crafts, Korea, poetry, photography and whatever else gets trapped between my ears. My world is eclectic. I think everyone's is or ought to be.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Paul to the persecuted at Philippi (2:5-11)

23 August 2010

More on North Korea

N.Korea Rights Conference Focuses on Plight of Women

The 10th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees in Toronto, Canada, last weekend condemned gross infringement of human rights in North Korea and sought ways to tackle the problems through international cooperation. ◆ North Korean Refugees in China Saturday's conference focused on the violation of the rights of North Korean women who escaped to China. Lee Won-woong, professor of social welfare studies at Kwandong University, said, "Women make up 70 percent of North Korean defectors, and most of them are victims of human trafficking and bonded labor. Many of them are trafficked and sold to farmers in the inland China or become sex slaves in cities." One North Korean woman defector who was present in the conference said, "When we cross the Duman (or Tumen) River, there are Chinese traffickers waiting for us. Because we have nobody to rely on in China, and we get repatriated if caught in China, and most North Korean women are raped and sold without being able to resist." She said the "price" of a North Korean women is 2,000 yuan (W350,000) if she is older, and 8,000 (W1.4 million) if she is in her 20s. Kim Mi-ran, a 50-year-old woman who defected to South Korea in 2008, said, "Many of these women are sold to disabled Chinese men in the countryside. They're shackled, and their husbands even follow them into the toilet. Young and pretty women are sold to brothels and karaoke parlors and are forced into prostitution." ◆ Repatriation and Imprisonment Women defectors say that as soon as they are caught and sent back to the national security and intelligence office near the border, military doctors with latex gloves put their hands in the vagina and anus -- regardless whether the woman is pregnant or virgin -- to see if there is any money hidden there. They also make the women sit and stand 100 times to see if something hidden in their body cavities drops out. “North Korean agents say that pregnant women who were caught in China have the babies of "dirty dogs (referring to Chinese), and take them out of the office for a forced abortion," Kim Mi-ran said. "Many women die in prison because they don't get adequate treatment after losing a lot of blood from the abortion and malnutrition." ◆ Call on China Roberta Cohen of the conservative Brookings Institution in the U.S., said although China is a signatory of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, it does not have the refugee adjudication process, and bans the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in China from contacting North Korean refugees. She said this is a violation of international law. Participants in the conference agreed to assist global efforts to raise awareness of the human rights situation in North Korea. The conference was organized by, the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights in South Korea and a Canada-based youth organization on North Korean human rights named HanVoice. It was sponsored by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Chosun Ilbo. HanVoice was formed in Toronto chiefly by second-generation Korean-Canadian youngsters in 2007. It has about 200 members, 20 percent of whom are of non-Korean descent.

Considering how much money Americans pour into the Chinese economy, with neither thought nor need, we need to take note of the human rights abuses we’re supporting. The Chinese people are not responsible for this atrocity, but the Chinese government is the primary support for the oppressive and abusive regime in North Korea. Refugees, who leave their homes do not do so lightly. Most of them leave behind loved ones, sometimes never seeing them again. They leave because they cannot survive in North Korea, because they have no other options. They love their homeland, but North Korea considers them traitors and many are executed or placed in forced labor camps if caught and returned from China. If they have had contact with the Church in China, their fate is worse and importing Christianity to Korea is dangerous and illegal.